Emirati school girls impress at Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Festival

The Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Festival 2018 continued its third day successfully with Emirati schoolgirls from ten to 19 years old and across a range of belts competing for the top ranks in the School Jiu-Jitsu National Championship.

Results from day one for the cycle two age group, which includes competitors aged 10 to 15, saw Al Reef School take first place with five gold medals, five silvers and eight bronzes.

Al Erteqaa School came second place overall with four gold, three silver and four bronze medals, while Hessa bin Mohamed School finished in third place, with a total of three gold medals, five silver and four bronze.

Meanwhile, in cycle three, for the 16 to 19 age bracket, Um Kulthoom School stormed to victory with six gold, one silver and five bronze medals. Al Shahama School arrived in a close second place, with four gold medals, four silvers and one bronze, with Al Shiyam School finishing third three gold, one silver and one three bronze.

White-belt athlete Rawda Al Dhaheri, age 14, said: “I started playing Jiu-Jitsu since grade six, and was taught it at school as an integral part of the curriculum. It taught me a lot of important values, including self-confidence. I started preparing for the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Festival a long time ago — training and sticking to a healthy food system. I was encouraged most by my mother. I’m proud to be taking part in this year’s Championship in the Year of Zayed, and I’m pleased with the standards of the organisation and the outstanding facilities. It’s a very comfortable environment to be competing in.”

Ibtisama Mohammed, a 14-year-old yellow belt weighing in at 48kg, said that she has discovered many values and principles through Jiu-Jitsu, including respect, responsibility and rising to a challenge. She looks forward to receiving her orange belt after the tournament, for which she has put in a lot of effort and preparation.

“I’ve worked hard to learn from my mistakes in the past, which have allowed me to improve my performance,” she said.

Jiu-jitsu will only be making its Asian Games debut later this year in Indonesia, but UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation CEO Fahad Al Shamsi already believes it will have one of the highest number of participating countries.

The 18th Asian Games takes place in Jakarta and Palembang in September, with a record-equaling 42 sports being contested – including all 28 full Summer Olympic sports.

Jiu-jitsu is easily one of the most popular sports in the UAE, with the nation also becoming pioneers across the globe in both promoting the sport and hosting tournaments.

And ahead of the Federation’s pride and joy spectacle – the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018 – starting in the capital on Saturday, Al Shamsi says it is the perfect warm-up to the Asian Games.

“More than 2,500 athletes from outside the UAE coming for the competition which shows the importance of the competition.

“It’s a big test and the players will be at a very strong level as they build up to that. The UAE and all other Asia countries have a strong jiu-jitsu programme.

“We have 36 countries competing at the Asia Games in jiu-jitsu, it’s one of the most number of countries competing. I think football is more. And it’s the biggest individual sport.

“It’s exciting and we believe in our programme, in our players. They will use their experience to represent the UAE in a good way. When we go there we will represent the country well.”

Al Shamsi is excited by the fact many other Asian countries are sending their stars to the tournament, with some even coming to the Emirates for training camps ahead of September’s Games.

“Some national teams have been doing training camps here through the Asian union, like Iran, Indonesia and Thailand,” he said.

“Indonesia are hosting the Asia Games. That they’re training here shows the importance of the role played by the UAEJJF.”

It’s special year for the tournament, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. There’s a host of special events planned to mark the occasion, such as the King of the Mat contest which pits former winners against each other, while prize money is at a record high.

“It’s the highest one in terms of prizemoney ever,” said Al Shamsi.

“Dh4 million, which is attractive. I don’t think you can find another jiu-jitsu competition in the world that offers the same. There’s big exposure, high prize money and the level of competition is very high.

“Former champions will be competing in the King of the Mat competition, but most of them are still fighting. They have played in one of these competitions before and all of them are still fighting in other organisations or competitions.

Clubs

Larissa Paes on living up to family expectations at Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship

Larissa Paes has won 10 more medals than any other female black belt this year. Pic courtesy of Welington Borges/larissapaes.blogspot.ae

Larissa Paes insists she had a choice of sports to pursue as a child.

But being born into a family of black belt standard jiu-jitsu stars meant the mat was always calling her.

And despite the fact she had a lot to live up to with both parents rising to the second-highest ranking in a country where only football is considered a more popular sport, Paes has done pretty well for herself.

She has already emulated mother Daniela and father Paulo Flavio by becoming a black belt – aged just 22.

She currently sits atop the world rankings for female adult brown/black belt fighters and holds a huge 620-point margin over second-placed compatriot Thamara Silva coming into the biggest event of the season, the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018, which begins on Saturday at Zayed Sports City’s Mubadala Arena.

Paes has won 11 gold medals in 2017/18 – six more than anyone else – and also has six silvers and one bronze for a total haul of 18. That is 10 more than any other competitor in the top-10 globally ranked athletes.

Jiu-jitsu has its origins in the Far East, first established in Japan. But it is a big deal back in Paes’ homeland, where Brazilian jiu-jitsu has become its own recognised combat sport.

It is the fastest growing martial art in the world and only football outranks it in a nation of nearly 209 million people – the sixth largest populated country on earth.

Paes reveals she was told as a child she didn’t have to pick jiu-jitsu, but she did have to pick a sport to follow.

“My mum was a black belt and my dad too, so it’s a family thing,” says the smiley-faced South American.

“They tell me I need to train. There was no pressure. They said I could choose but I needed to choose a sport. I chose jiu-jitsu.”

Paes admits she placed any pressure to live up to the family legacy on herself.

“I like that (pressure). I try and live up to their name,” she adds.

“Some people tell me I look like or fight like my parents and they both help me, they’re very good to me, and they’re both my professors. My dad helps me every day. If I have problems and can’t do a certain position I call him up and he says ‘ok, come here’ and we train.”

Although she declares there is no pressure on her shoulders in living up to the family name, there may be more pressure to live up to her own name with the season the 62kg star has been having.

She hasn’t had the perfect approach to this tournament – celebrating its 10th anniversary – as she lost an epic contest to Germany’s Charlotte Von Baumgarten at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour in London three weeks ago.

Paes opened up an early 5-0 lead but her opponent clawed her way back to claim gold with a bow and arrow choke for a 6-5 win.

Paes (l) has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu family legacy to live up to, with her mother and father both black belts. Pic courtesy of William Burkhardt/larissapaes.blogspot.ae

Paes celebrated her 22nd birthday on Tuesday and has nothing but victory in her sights in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m 22 today so it would be very special to win this year, it would be a nice birthday present,” she says.

“To win a medal, more than one. That’s always the aim.

“It will be very hard, there a lot of girls with a lot of experience in my category but I keep training hard and I will do my best. I don’t really think of any of my opponents and who may challenge me most, I just think of myself and believe in myself.”

Paes will have a kind of home advantage at the two-week tournament, having lived in the UAE capital for over a year.

She works for Palms Sports, a UAE-based company that creates sports training programmes, particularly geared towards jiu-jitsu, mixed martial arts and combat sports.

It’s an arduous task balancing work and training, with only time in her day to train once. But she combats that by training intensely.

“I came here to work but I’ve kept training and fighting because I love this sport,” says Paes, who has been practicing jiu-jitsu since she was five.

“It’s not easy but we can work in the morning and train in the afternoon and evening. It’s a little bit hard because I have work from 08:00 to 15:00. I can train only once per day. I need to do my best in that training and train hard.

“I live here so it’s easy for me competing here this month, and my family lives here too so that is a big help.”